


The Visitor

by The_Alias (Artemis_Day)



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Divergence - Thor (2011), F/M, First Meeting, Jane Foster Loves Science (Marvel), King Thor (Marvel), Ladies of Marvel Bingo 2019, Loki is confused, MCU RarePairs Bingo 2019, No Jotunn Attack, Of the spaceship variety, Pre-Thor (2011), Shipwrecks, astronaut Jane, but not altogether bothered
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-29
Updated: 2020-08-29
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:11:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26170174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Artemis_Day/pseuds/The_Alias
Summary: It's another boring day on Asgard for Loki, brother of the king, when something new literally falls right out of the sky.
Relationships: Jane Foster/Loki
Comments: 21
Kudos: 86
Collections: Ladies of Marvel Bingo 2020





	The Visitor

**Author's Note:**

> Written for: 
> 
> MCU Rarepairs Bingo Square I4- Canon Divergence  
> Ladies of Marvel Bingo Square M1- Shipwrecked

The explosion pulled Loki out of a seven-hour haze full of spell transcribing and inventory updates. For that alone, he was grateful.

Still, he was going to have to investigate before the mighty king of Asgard decided to send in the cavalry. Assuming, of course, Thor could stop swinging his hammer at trainees and feeding his queen grapes long enough to actually do his job. Such things were fairly hit and miss these days. Better for Loki to get a headstart. 

Smoke rose from the far east gardens where almost no one ever went. Even now, there were no shouts of an attack, no feet pounding the grass as soldiers and civilians alike gathered their bearings and prepared to defend the realm. A few servants cast questioning glances over the hill, but a quick nod from Loki quelled their fears and they settled back into their morning routine.

At the top of the hill, Loki easily spotted the source of the distress. A crumpled and sputtering hunk of metal that might have once resembled a ship was half-buried in the dirt. Flowers and bushes had been uprooted and littered the formerly impeccable space. The smell of oil lingered in the air and poked at Loki’s nostrils. 

A bent hatch whined as whatever was inside pushed on it. The grunting was female, and she clearly didn’t have much by way of physical strength. It was almost sad watching her struggle. In fact, Loki might have helped her if she didn’t finally break free after seven attempts.

“Holy shit,” she gasped, draping herself over the doorway. “I did not expect that.”

Removing her helmet, she shook out her waist-length brown hair. It was knotted in several places and Loki doubted she had room for a vanity in that trash receptacle of a ship. A few more seconds passed before she realized she wasn’t alone.

“Oh,” she said, staring up at Loki. She was quite pretty for a non-Aesir. Perhaps she was from Alfheim or maybe this was just another prank from the Vanir. As if they could ever top him. “Uh… hi there! Do you know what I’m saying?”

He did. The Allspeak allowed him to hear and understand most dialects with perfect clarity. He recognized hers as English, one of the many more common Midgardian languages. 

Midgardians had found a way to travel between realms. Will wonders ever cease?

“Yes,” Loki said, narrowing his eyes at her.

“Great,” she said. “I’m Dr. Jane Foster, astrophysicist, and astronaut… kind of. The whole point of this mission was to find a way across an Einstein-Rosen bridge, but I guess that counts? I had to go through all the training before they’d approve me, so-”

She was quite talkative, and how amazing that she managed to say absolutely everything except what Loki wanted to hear. He let her ramble on about isolation chambers for another minute before interrupting. “How did Midgard rediscover Asgard? I had thought all knowledge of us was lost.”

“They told me I’d need to get used to the food cubes and… what?” Jane shook her head. “Did you say Asgard?”

Loki nodded. “Yes.”

“This is Asgard?”

This was going nowhere. “I said what I said, mortal.”

As his words sunk in, her eyes went comically wide. Jaw-dropping, she scrambled out of the crater on her tiny arms and legs, just barely making it over the ledge without tumbling back down. Loki stepped aside to give her space. He could’ve helped her up but she seemed to have it under control. 

“Oh my God!” she cried, grabbing his hand and shaking it. “This is amazing. You know, I was expecting a few desert planets, maybe some ancient microbes in the ocean, but this-” she spread her arms wide over the Asgardian skyline, “-this is unbelievable! Erik is going to flip when he hears about this.”

She was quite loud, Loki thought, rubbing his ear. Strangely enough, he didn’t terribly mind her enthusiasm. Being a prince his whole life, he’d seen every nook and cranny of the realm more times than he could count. Nothing surprised him in Asgard anymore, but of course, for someone from a realm as mundane as Midgard, the golden arches and sprawling skies would be quite the marvel. 

“I don’t even know where to start,” she continued to babble. “I need to get my equipment! ...my equipment is broken. That’s okay, I can just take notes… I don’t have any paper.”

“If you require a pen,” Loki said, less to help and more to remind the good doctor that he was still standing in front of her, “I can provide one.”

Jane blinked at him. “Right! Yes. I am being rude, I’m sorry. This is just the most exciting day of my life and… are you from the old mythology? You must be, right?”

She seemed to switch her train of thought at the slightest inclination. In a way, it was quaint. Why Loki could almost-

“Are you Thor?”

-kill her. Kill her  _ slowly. _

“Wait, no, Thor’s blonde,” she said. “You must be Loki.”

All right. He’d give her another chance.

“Indeed I am,” he said, sweeping into a bow. “Let me be the first to welcome you to our humble realm. It is a pleasure to be of service to you, daughter of Midgard.”

It had the desired effect of putting her off guard. She was even blushing. “Gotta admit, that was mostly a lucky guess. The only other Norse god I know of is Odin and I’m pretty sure he’d be older than you.”

“Quite,” Loki said. “Now, I would be happy to answer all of your questions in a more private setting. Would you care to join me inside?”

Jane looked up at the palace, her mouth practically watering, but she didn’t leave her ship. “I don’t know. I might want to check and see if the radio still works. Mission control must be freaking out right now. I should let them know I’m not dead.”

Given the state of her ship, that seemed like a moot point. Regardless, she slid back into the hole and stuck her entire upper body down the hatch. Her legs flailed as she rummaged through the mess, tossing random parts and wires out of her way as she searched. Loki waited at the edge of the crater, rolling what looked like part of a navigation system around with his foot. After thirty seconds of fruitless searching, it didn’t look like she’d find what she was looking for. So of course she kept going for another five minutes.

“Dammit. Guess that’s off the table.” Jane crawled out of the ship and stood on top of it, hands on her hips. “I’m going to have to get this thing fixed before I can contact anyone. I get the feeling my service provider won’t cover me this far out of range.”

She was taking her predicament remarkably well. Another interesting facet to this already compelling creature. “I would be happy to provide you a room in the palace to complete the repairs, and to sleep of course.”

“You can do that?” Jane asked.

Technically, he couldn’t without Thor’s permission. Realistically, who cares about that?

“It’s no trouble at all,” Loki said, helping her back out of the hole. “My home is your home as they say.”

To make his point clear, he kissed her hand before letting go. Jane’s already red face grew redder. “Wow, you’re a lot nicer in real life than in the myths.”

Oh, if only she knew.

“Your highness!” Three guardsmen whose names Loki would most likely never know finally saw fit to rush onto the scene, weapons ready. “We heard a commotion. Are the people under attack?”

His men flanked him, their eyes darting this way and that. While the enemy they sought glanced confusedly over her shoulder, Loki casually stepped in front of her, his taller, larger frame rendering her invisible. “There is no attack here, my good men. Be off with you.”

The soldiers balked at the offhand dismissal. They had enough sense not to question the brother of the king directly, but still they stood their ground. “My prince, if there is danger, it is our responsibility to protect you.”

Loki could have laughed. Them? Protect  _ him? _ It was a shame Thor wasn’t here to see this.

“What you heard was merely an experiment of mine which went wrong. I have isolated the problem and fixed it. Nothing for you to worry about.”

“Are you certain, my prince?” the soldier asked.

“What are you doing?” Jane hissed.

Loki touched her arm to silence her. “You are all clearly fine warriors of Asgard. To rush into battle despite not knowing what kind of danger you face is admirable. Know that I will tell my brother what you did here today and you will be rewarded as all brave men should.”

His words spun them in circles, leaving them disoriented and unable to argue. Gratitude won out over consternation, and they left Loki in peace with a bow and a thanks. When they were long gone (to the tavern most likely), Jane stepped out from behind Loki, arms wrapped around herself. 

“Shit,” she muttered. “I’m glad you found me before they did.”

Loki patted her shoulder. “You needn’t worry about them. No self-respecting Aesir knight would dare attack an innocent.”

“Yeah, but my entrance wasn’t exactly smooth. I wouldn’t be surprised if their plan was to shoot first and ask questions never.” Jane shivered. “Thanks for saving me by the way. I owe you one.” 

There was nothing to save her from, he wanted to protest. Except when he thought about it, he really didn’t.

“Why don’t I show you to your room,” he said, hiding her ship under a quick cloaking spell and leading her away. “I’m sure you’d like to get out of that musty old space suit. Allow me to find you something more suitable to wear.”

“I don’t suppose you have some jeans laying around,” Jane said. 

“I shall see. In the meantime, you must be famished. Shall I bring you something to eat once you’ve changed?”

“That’d be great,” Jane sighed. “Man, you are the nicest alien I’ve ever met.”

_ ‘And you, Jane Foster,’ _ Loki thought with a secret smile,  _ ‘are the most interesting thing to happen here in ages. I will greatly enjoy our time together.’ _

For the first time in far too long, he meant it with total sincerity.

**Author's Note:**

> So I know people are going to look at this and want it to be continued. In fact, I do too, but unfortunately, I have way too much on my plate right now to start a new chapter fic.
> 
> That said, I am officially putting this fic up for adoption! If you would like to write a continuation, message me on tumblr, Discord, or in the comments below. All I ask is that you credit me for the idea (I can even add you as a co-author if that works better).
> 
> Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed and have a wonderful day/night!


End file.
